JP2005323188A - Portable telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely position a camera while supplying sufficient illumination light to a subject. <P>SOLUTION: The portable telephone 10 comprises a receiver unit 11, a transmitter unit 12 and a hinge part 13 for coupling both the units 11, 12. On the receiver unit 11 and the transmitter unit 12, inclined surfaces 11a, 12a are formed on respective end parts on the side opposite to the hinge part 13 and LEDs 54a, 54b are arranged on respective positions which are at equal distance from the hinge part 13. Camera units 23, 24 are integrated into the hinge part 13. When close-up photographing, the receiver unit 11 and the transmitter unit 12 are set on respective close-up available positions making an open angle θ1 and applied to a subject 31, which is a close-up object in a state that respective inner surfaces are turned downward. Here, the LEDs 54a, 54b are turned on to illuminate a photographic range and the camera units 23, 24 are positioned by grounding the inclined surfaces 11a, 12a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone that is rotatable between a closed position where a handset unit and a handset unit face each other's inner surfaces and a call position where an opening angle of each other forms an obtuse angle.

  In recent years, an image pickup apparatus using a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor as an image pickup unit is incorporated in a small information terminal device such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). This imaging device is widely referred to as a digital camera, and has a function of converting a subject image optically obtained by a photographing lens into an imaging signal using a solid-state imaging device, and electronically photographing and recording the image. As the solid-state imaging device is downsized and the pixel density is increased, the practicality is increasing.

  Mobile phones with built-in digital cameras that have switching means to switch between normal shooting mode and close-up mode that can shoot subjects at close distances that cannot be focused in normal shooting mode without blurring. Yes. In the close-up shooting that takes a picture in the close-up mode, since the taking lens is brought close to the subject, the mobile phone itself blocks the external light and the illuminance of the subject decreases. Therefore, Patent Document 1 describes a mobile phone in which a half mirror is incorporated in the vicinity of a photographing lens in order to maintain the illuminance of a subject. In the normal shooting mode, this half mirror functions as a mirror for checking the shooting range, and is used for self-taking with the shooting lens facing the photographer. On the other hand, in the close-up mode, the light of the backlight of the liquid crystal display built in the surface opposite to the surface on the photographing lens side is transmitted, and the subject in front of the photographing lens is illuminated.

  In close-up photography, camera shake may occur if an attempt is made to capture a range of several centimeters to fill the screen. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, three projections are provided around the photographic lens, and the projections of these projections are brought into contact with the subject, and shooting is performed with a certain distance from the subject. Prevents blurring.

JP 2002-374450 A

  In the mobile phone disclosed in Patent Document 1, the illumination light is given to the subject via the half mirror, so that the illuminance is insufficient. In addition, since the three projecting parts for preventing camera shake are limited to the mobile phone body, if the subject size is small, a part of the projecting part does not contact the subject and the camera is unstable. It becomes. As a result, camera shake may occur and a clear image may not be captured.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone including an imaging device that can position and photograph a camera while providing sufficient illumination light to a subject. To do.

  In the mobile phone of the present invention, a handset unit and a handset unit are connected via a hinge part, and a closed position where both units face each other and a callable position where each other has an obtuse angle. A specific opening position between the closed position of the handset unit and the handset unit and the call-capable position. When the lens is rotated to the position, both units can be placed on a flat surface with their inner surfaces facing downward, and the photographing lens is directed downward by rotating both units to a specific opening position. Is focused for close-up photography.

  It is preferable that a light emitting element for illuminating a photographing range of a photographing lens focused for close-up photography is provided on the inner surface of at least one of the handset unit and the handset unit. In addition, it is preferable that a pair of digital cameras is provided, and each photographing lens is incorporated in the hinge portion so as to be separated from each other, and each digital camera photographs images with parallax through each photographing lens.

  According to the present invention, the photographic lens is focused for close-up photography by rotating the handset unit and the handset unit to a predetermined specific opening position, and at least the handset unit and the handset unit Since the light emitting element provided on any one of the inner surfaces emits light, sufficient illumination light can be given to the subject. Further, since both units can be placed on a flat surface when they are rotated to a predetermined specific opening position, the camera can be reliably positioned and photographed.

  A preferred embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. 1 and 2 are external perspective views of a front side and a back side of a mobile phone to which the present invention is applied. The cellular phone 10 includes a receiver unit 11 and a transmitter unit 12 formed in a substantially rectangular thin plate shape, and a hinge portion 13 that rotatably connects these units.

  The receiver unit 11 includes an antenna 42. The antenna 42 receives a radio signal from another mobile phone or an Internet server when using a telephone call, an e-mail service, or an Internet connection service, and transmits a radio signal transmitted from the mobile phone 10 to the outside.

  A receiver speaker 14, a first liquid crystal display (LCD) 15, and a first light emitting window 16 are provided on the inner surface of the receiver unit 11. The receiving speaker 14 outputs the voice or ringtone of the communication partner. A second liquid crystal display (LCD) 25 and a camera unit 26 for normal photographing are provided on the outer surface of the receiver unit 11. The camera unit 26 includes a photographing lens 26a.

  The first and second LCDs 15 and 25 are built-in displays of the mobile phone 10. The first LCD 15 is used for various menu displays, telephone number displays, and the like, as well as for displaying a finder image when shooting using the camera unit 26 and for displaying a photographed image. The second LCD 25 is used for finder image display and captured image display when shooting is performed using camera units 23 and 24 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second LCD 25 uses a known scan backlight type liquid crystal display capable of stereoscopic viewing. The second LCD 25 includes a liquid crystal panel 60, a backlight panel 61, and light sources 62a and 62b such as white LEDs. Since the display screen of the liquid crystal panel 60 also extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, when white LEDs are used for the light sources 62a and 62b, a plurality of display screens are arranged in that direction.

  The backlight panel 61 has a function of emitting light to the liquid crystal panel 60 with different directivities according to the incident angles of illumination light incident from the side surfaces when the light sources 62a and 62b are turned on. For example, the light source 62a is turned on, and three light beams incident on the backlight panel 61 at different angles as shown by solid lines are irradiated onto the liquid crystal panel 60 at different angles. Similarly, when the light source 62b is turned on, the liquid crystal panel 60 is irradiated with light at an angle as indicated by a broken line. In order to give such directivity to the illumination light from each of the light sources 62a and 62b, a microprism sheet in which minute prisms having different inclinations of reflection surfaces are arranged as the backlight panel 61 for each incident position of the illumination light. Use it.

  On the inner surface of the transmitter unit 12, an operation unit 18 including a transmitter microphone 17, a dial key 18a, a menu key 18b, a selection key 18c, and the like, and a second light emission window 19 are provided. The transmitting microphone 17 converts the voice of the speaker into an electric voice signal and transmits it to the other party via the antenna 42. The dial key 18a is operated when inputting a telephone number or an e-mail text. The menu key 18b and the selection key 18c are used for selecting / setting various menus. The enter key 18d is used for a release operation when shooting is performed by the camera unit 26.

  On the lower surface of the transmitter unit 12, a socket 20 for connecting a cable to an external device such as a personal computer and a memory card slot 21 into which a memory card is loaded are provided. Also, a shooting button 22 is provided on one side surface. The shooting button 22 is used for a release operation when shooting is performed with the camera units 23 and 24.

  The receiver unit 11 and the transmitter unit 12 are formed with inclined surfaces 11a and 12a at the end opposite to the hinge 13 side. The cellular phone 10 is used in a form (see FIG. 4) in which these inclined surfaces 11a and 12a are grounded in the close-up mode described later.

  The hinge unit 13 is provided with a pair of camera units 23 and 24 that are separated from each other. The distance between the camera units 23 and 24 is preferably such that the distance between the optical axes of the photographing lenses 23a and 24a is 100 mm or less, preferably about 36 mm. Each of the camera units 23 and 24 incorporates photographing lenses 23a and 24a, and each of these photographing lenses 23a and 24a is, for example, a pan-focus type and is focused for close-up photography. The

  In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 10 shoots and records a subject at an infinite distance from a middle distance using the camera unit 26 in still image shooting, and a subject at a short distance using the camera units 23 and 24. The close-up mode for shooting and recording can be set. Under the close-up mode setting, a three-dimensional (3D) mode and a two-dimensional (2D) mode can be selected by a setting operation of the operation unit 18. In the 3D mode, two types of subject images having parallax in the left-right direction are simultaneously shot using both of the two camera units 23 and 24. In this case, the camera unit 23 is a left-eye camera, and the camera unit 24 is a right-eye camera. In the 2D mode, one type of subject image is photographed as usual using one camera unit 23. The mobile phone 10 is set to the 2D mode in the initial setting.

  As a close-up mode setting method, the operating unit 18 is set and operated, and the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12 are rotated to a preset close-up position. The cellular phone 10 rotates the handset unit 11 or the handset unit 12 relative to each other via the hinge portion 13 so that both the units 11 and 12 face each other on the inner surface and the mutual opening. The angle is freely rotatable between a callable position where an obtuse angle is set in advance, and the close-up position is set between a closed position and a callable position. In the mobile phone 10, the close-up position is set to a single position, but a plurality of positions may be set so as to correspond to the size of the subject. The hinge unit 13 is provided with a click mechanism (not shown) that locks the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12 at the closed position, the close-up position, and the call-ready position.

  The first and second light emitting windows 16 and 19 are provided on the inner surfaces of the receiver unit 11 and the transmitter unit 12 at positions equidistant from the hinge portion 13. Behind the first and second light emission windows 16 and 19, light emission means for emitting a predetermined amount of light is installed when the close-up mode is set. As the light source of the light emitting means, for example, a white LED (Light Emitting Diode) is used.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a usage pattern in the close-up mode of the mobile phone 10. The handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12 are set at close-up positions where the opening angle θ1 is formed, and the close-up subject 31 is placed with their inner surfaces facing downward. The subject 31 is arranged on a flat surface, for example. At this time, in the mobile phone 10, the inclined surfaces 11a and 12a of both the units 11 and 12 are grounded and stably placed on the flat surface, so that the camera units 23 and 24 are reliably positioned. Further, the photographing lenses 23 a and 24 a of the camera units 23 and 24 face the subject 31, and the subject 31 is focused.

  In the present embodiment, when the cellular phone 10 is set at a close-up position, the white LED is turned on, and is evenly directed from the first and second light emitting windows 16 and 19 to the photographing range of the photographing lenses 23a and 24a. Light is irradiated (indicated by a broken line). Thereby, sufficient illumination light is given to the subject 31.

  FIG. 5 shows the electrical configuration of the mobile phone 10 in functional blocks. The system controller 40 controls the functions of a telephone set including a voice processing circuit 41 that controls voice input / output of the reception speaker 14 and the transmission microphone 17 and a radio communication interface 43 that transmits and receives via an antenna 42 as main components. Further, the image pickup apparatus including the camera units 23, 24, and 26 is controlled in accordance with the setting operation of the operation unit 18 or the opening angle between the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12.

  A CCD image sensor 23b is disposed on the imaging surface of the photographing lens 23a of the left-eye camera unit 23, and a CCD image sensor 24b is disposed on the imaging surface of the photographing lens 24a of the right-eye camera unit 24. These CCD image sensors 23c and 24c receive drive pulses from the CCD driver 44 and output imaging signals of subject images obtained by the respective photographing lenses 23a and 24a. These image pickup signals are digitally converted after known signal processing such as noise removal, analog amplification, and color balance correction by the signal processing circuits 23c and 24c, and written into the frame memories 46a and 46b by the system controller 40, respectively.

  These image data are read each time an image signal for one screen is output from each of the CCD image sensors 23b and 24b. In the frame memory 46a, the left eye obtained through the photographing lens 23a of the left eye camera unit 23 is read. The image data for the eye is sequentially updated, and the image data for the right eye obtained through the photographing lens 24b of the camera unit for the right eye 24 is sequentially updated in the frame memory 46b.

  The image data updated in the frame memories 46a and 46b is input to the image data processing circuits 47a and 47b, respectively. In the image data processing circuits 47a and 47b, various kinds of image processing such as matrix calculation processing, white balance adjustment, and gamma correction are performed on the image data, and are written in the image data memories 48a and 48b, respectively.

  When the 3D mode of the close-up mode is set, the LCD driver 50 displays a 3D image that can be stereoscopically viewed on the second LCD 25. When displaying the 3D image, the LCD driver 50 reads the image data for the left eye from the image data memory 48a, and the image is displayed in the area S1 of the liquid crystal panel 60 as shown by hatching in FIG. Simultaneously with this image display, when the light source 62a is turned on and directivity is given to the illumination light by the backlight panel 61, the display image of the region S1 is observed with the left eye 63a of the observer as shown by the solid line in the figure. Is done. This image is hardly observed by the right eye 63b.

  After the image display for left eye observation is performed, the image data for the right eye is read from the image data memory 48b by the LCD driver 50, and the image display is performed in the region S2. At the same time, when the light source 62b is turned on and directivity is given to the illumination light by the backlight panel 61, the display image of the region S2 is observed with the right eye 63b, as indicated by a broken line in the figure. Of course, the image of the region S2 is hardly observed with the left eye 63a. By performing such image display processing alternately at, for example, (1/60) second intervals, the left and right eye images 63a and 63b of the observer have a parallax image for the left eye and a right eye image, respectively. It is observed alternately, and stereoscopic image observation can be performed.

  When the 2D mode is set, only the image data in the image data memory 48 b is read by the LCD driver 51 and displayed on the center of the second LCD 25. At the same time, both the light sources 62a and 62b are continuously lit with approximately half the amount of light when a 3D image is displayed, and the same image is observed with the left and right eyes 63a and 63b of the observer.

  A CCD image sensor 26 b is disposed on the imaging surface of the photographing lens 26 a of the camera unit 26. The CCD image sensor 26b receives a driving pulse from the CCD driver 44, and outputs an imaging signal of a subject image obtained by the photographing lens 26a. The imaging signal is digitally converted by the signal processing circuit 26c after known signal processing, and written into the frame memory 46a. Similar to the image data obtained from the camera unit 23, the image data obtained from the camera unit 26 is subjected to various types of image processing by the image data processing circuit 47a and written into the image data memory 48a. When the normal mode is set, the LCD driver 50 reads image data from the image data memory 48 a and displays an image on the first LCD 15.

  When framing is performed while observing the display images on the LCDs 15 and 25 and the enter key 18d or the photographing button 22 as a release button is pressed, the image data stored in the image data memories 48a and 48b is frozen, and the media controller 51 Forwarded to Subsequently, when an image recording operation is performed with the operation unit 18, the freeze image is recorded on the memory card 52 by the media controller 51. On the other hand, when an operation not requiring image recording is performed, the freeze image clear process is performed without recording on the memory card 52.

  When the image data is transferred from both of the image data memories 48a and 48b, the media controller 51 records each image data on the memory card 52 after adding tag information associated with each other. Therefore, when the image data is read from the memory card 52 and reproduced, the pair of image data can be used.

  The rotation position detection circuit 53 detects the opening angle between the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12 and inputs the detected angle to the system controller 40. When the detection value of the opening angle is a preset angle θ1, the system controller 40 sets the close-up mode and turns on the second LCD 25. On the other hand, when the detected value is not the angle θ1, the close-up mode setting is canceled and the first LCD 15 is turned on instead of the second LCD 25.

  An LED 54 a is disposed in the back of the first light emission window 16, and an LED 54 b is disposed in the back of the second light emission window 19. The LEDs 54a and 54b are turned on when the close-up mode is set, and are turned off when the close-up mode setting is canceled.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When performing close-up photography, the mobile phone 10 is switched to a close-up capable position. With the switching to the close-up position, the rotation position detection circuit 53 detects the opening angle between the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12, and when the detected value is a predetermined angle θ1, the system controller 40 Close-up mode is set. Under the close-up mode setting, the LEDs 54 a and 54 b are turned on, and the 3D or 2D viewfinder image obtained by the camera units 23 and 24 is displayed on the second LCD 25. The cellular phone 10 in which the close-up mode is set is placed on the subject 31 so that the inclined surfaces 11a and 12a of the handset unit 11 and the handset unit 12 are grounded. At this time, the camera units 23 and 24 are reliably positioned with respect to the subject 31, and the photographing lenses 23a and 24a are brought into focus, and sufficient illumination light is given.

  When framing is performed while viewing the display image on the second LCD 25 and the shooting button 22 is pressed, the image data stored in the image data memories 48a and 48b (only the image data memory 48a in the 2D mode) is frozen. Is recorded in the memory card 52. Thereafter, the frozen images in the image data memories 48a and 48b are cleared.

  When normal shooting is performed, the mobile phone 10 is switched from a close-up position to another position, or a setting operation is performed using the operation unit 18. Under the normal mode setting, the LEDs 54 a and 54 b are turned off, and the 2D viewfinder image obtained by the camera unit 26 is displayed on the first LCD 15. When framing is performed while viewing the display image on the first LCD 15 and the enter key 18d is pressed, the image data stored in the image data memory 48a is frozen, and this freeze image is recorded in the memory card 52. Thereafter, as in the close-up mode, the frozen image in the image data memory 48a is cleared.

  The second LCD 25 having a 3D image display function is not necessarily limited to the scan backlight type described above. For example, by controlling the traveling direction of the backlight illumination light with a parallax barrier, it is separated so as to reach either the left eye or the right eye of the observer, and the image for the left eye observation and the right eye are in each optical path. If the image for observation is displayed with pixel distribution, a 3D image can be observed even if both images with parallax are simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal panel.

  In the above-described embodiment, the close-up mode is set and the LEDs 54a and 54b are lit to illuminate the subject 31 to be close-up shot. However, the shooting button 22 is configured in a two-stage push type, and the shooting button 22 is operated halfway. At the same time, the LEDs 54a and 54b may be turned on.

  In the above embodiment, the camera units 23 and 24 are built in the hinge unit 13, but the camera units 23 and 24 may be configured to be detachable from the cellular phone 10 as an accessory.

It is a front side perspective view which shows the mobile telephone to which this invention is applied. It is a back side perspective view of a mobile phone. It is the schematic which shows the structure of 2nd LCD (liquid crystal display for 3D image display). It is explanatory drawing which shows the usage pattern of close-up mode. It is a functional block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a mobile telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the process of still image photography.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile telephone 11 Handset unit 12 Transmitter unit 13 Hinge part 23, 24 A pair of camera unit 23a, 24a Shooting lens 54a, 54b LED

Claims (3)

The handset unit and the handset unit are connected via a hinge part, and the two units are rotatable between a closed position where the inner surfaces face each other and a callable position where the opening angle is an obtuse angle. Yes, in a mobile phone in which a photographing lens of a digital camera is incorporated in the hinge part,
When the handset unit and the handset unit are rotated to a specific opening position set between the closed position and the call-capable position, both units are on a flat surface with their inner surfaces facing downward. A mobile phone characterized in that the photographing lens directed downward by focusing both units to the specific opening position is focused for close-up photography.   2. A light emitting element for illuminating a photographing range of a photographing lens focused for close-up photography is provided on an inner surface of at least one of the handset unit and the handset unit. Mobile phone.   A pair of digital cameras are provided, and each photographing lens is incorporated in the hinge portion so as to be separated from each other, and each digital camera photographs images having parallax through each photographing lens. 3. The mobile phone according to 1 or 2.

Images